Felicity
by peonies01
Summary: A little story of how I envision Tony and Ziva's first kiss.


**Felicity**

Ziva sighed. She was bored. It had been a couple of days since their last case. That's a good thing, she supposed. No crimes or murders should be a positive. But it made for dull days at NCIS and she was tired of reorganizing old case files.

Looking around the room, she saw that McGee, typing listlessly on his computer, appeared as bored as she. Gibbs wasn't at his desk, as usual. She turned her gaze to Tony. He was immersed in something. She caught McGee's eye questioningly. He shrugged. Curious, Ziva went over to Tony's desk, where McGee joined her.

"You're doing a wordcross?" asked Ziva incredulously. She and McGee exchanged puzzled looks.

Tony frowned and rolled his eyes. "It's 'crossword,' and yes, I am thank you very much."

Ziva smiled to herself. She knew exactly what it was. She often mispronounced phrases in order to get a rise out of her colleagues. But Tony was her particular favorite to rile.

"I am sorry, but I did not think you are the type to enjoy those," teased Ziva.

"Keeps the mind sharp. Keeps me focused," said Tony self-importantly.

"Yes, my grandfather liked to do crosswords in his old age," countered McGee grinning. Ziva laughed.

Tony did not share their amusement for this dig at his age. He grumbled something and returned to his task.

"Can we help you?" mocked Ziva. This was the most fun she's had in a while.

"No"

McGee began to read over Tony's shoulder. "A four- letter word for someone without intelligence? Second letter 'o'?"

Ziva caught on and said with McGee, "Tony!"

She and McGee laughed and exchanged a high-five.

"Ha. Ha. The answer is 'dolt' a term you should be familiar with McDunderhead," said Tony smugly.

"Gear up!"

Ziva jumped at the sound of her boss's familiar call to action for his team. Excited at the prospect of being busy again, Ziva darted over to her desk and grabbed her backpack.

"Dead marine found in a Georgetown apartment," barked Gibbs.

As they marched toward the elevator, Ziva noticed an odd look on Tony's face. "What's the matter? Did the image of perky co-eds pop into your brain at the mention of 'Georgetown'" teased Ziva, with a smirk as she tied back her hair and put on her cap.

Tony made a face. "Actually, I'm stumped," he said sounding perplexed. "I usually breeze through crosswords. But I'm having trouble with this one. I must be losing it," he continued, almost to himself.

"Hmmm, maybe you are," said Ziva absentmindedly. In truth, Ziva wasn't interested in Tony's problem; she wanted to focus on the task at hand. As much as she despised the term "probie," the fact remained that she was a probationary agent and wanted to prove herself worthy in Gibbs' eyes. Especially, in light of what happened last year with Rivkin and her father.

After processing the scene, Ziva and the rest of the team returned to the squad room to track down leads and gather information on the case. As she entered a BOLO for the tenant of the apartment where the victim was found, she heard Tony exclaim, "Why can't I think of this word!"

"I feel like Clarice Starling in 'Silence of the Lambs' confronted with an anagram from Dr. Lecter."

Wonderful. Another movie reference. "Tony, we're supposed to be working on this case, not your wordcross."

She looked at her partner who was more bothered by this silly puzzle than he should be.

Ziva sighed. "Well, what's the clue, then?" She wanted to move on from this.

Tony laughed, "I doubt you will be able to help. You don't even know the proper word for…well, anything." Tony shot her a winning smile that was both irritating and charming.

Ignoring the tiny flutter in her stomach, Ziva made a face at Tony and said, "Fine, you don't want my help. Then, please stop whining about it around me. It's annoying." She resumed typing.

Tony was silent. Ziva felt him staring at her. Her face started to get hot under the scrutiny. She squirmed in her chair. "Ok, Miss Wikipedia, here you go…"

Ziva interrupted, "Miss who?"

"Never mind," continued Tony. "A pleasing state of being."

"A pleasing state of being," repeated Ziva. "How many letters?"

"Eight, with an 'i' in the fourth spot."

"Happiness?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's nine letters. Besides, I already tried it," continued Tony sheepishly.

"Huh. I have no idea," she said after a long pause and took up her work again.

"Thanks for your help," said Tony sarcastically as his phone rang. "DiNozzo."

Ziva thought there was something familiar about that definition. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Abby's got something for Gibbs. Where is he?" asked Tony.

"No idea. With Ducky, I imagine."

"Hmm. Well, let's go down and see what the mistress of darkness has."

In the elevator, Ziva continued to work on the clue Tony had given her. "You know, it can't be that hard to figure out what the word is. I realize I am not that familiar with all aspects of the English language, but how many 'pleasing state of being' words can there be?"

"I can think of a couple 'pleasurable states' but I don't think they would be suitable for print in a crossword," teased Tony as he grinned at Ziva.

Ziva feigned disgust, but wasn't sure she quite pulled it off.

The music blaring from Abby's lab indicated she was hard at work processing evidence. She turned the music down and looked slightly disappointed when Tony and Ziva entered.

"I'm sure Gibbs will bring your Caf-Pow soon, Abby," assured Tony. She brightened at this news and bounded over to her computer screen to show Tony and Ziva what she had found.

"Well done, Abbs," said Tony when she had finished.

"Thank you, Abby" agreed Ziva.

Abby is amazing, Ziva thought. She is brilliant and takes such pride in her…. pride! That's it!

Ever since Somalia and the events of last year, Ziva realized her life as a Mossad officer and assassin was over. She, therefore, resolved to soften some of her self-perceived sharp edges. Toward this end, she endeavored to read more classics and even some romance novels instead of the non-fiction works she had always chosen. The book she finished most recently was "Pride and Prejudice."

"Felicity!" said Ziva confidently. Tony turned to Ziva, eyes crinkled in obvious confusion. Abby simply looked bewildered.

"Tony, I was reading a book recently and had to look up a definition for a word I was not familiar with. The word was felicity and it said 'state of being happy' or something."

"Ah, yes Felicity," Tony pontificated. "Not surprised you don't know it. Kind of a chick-oriented show. Had a cute girl in it…"

"Tony!" snapped Ziva annoyed. "See if it fits."

Frowning, Tony pulled the folded crossword out of his pocket. "Let's see F-E-L…that works! Nicely done David! A gold star for you." He smiled, kissed Ziva quickly on the mouth and started to walk away. Shocked and frozen, Ziva gazed at Tony. He stopped in his tracks and spun toward the women. As he realized what he had done, embarrassment washed over his face. He cleared his throat, vaguely thanked Abby, and promptly took his leave from them.

Ziva glanced at Abby who had witnessed everything. She was beaming.

Ziva laughed nervously. "Wow, who knew men would react that way over puzzles in the newspaper." Abby just raised her eyebrows, smiled and slowly turned back toward her computer.

Ziva inwardly groaned.

//

Ziva hurried out of Abby's lab toward the elevator. She was still stunned and perplexed by what had happened. Unconsciously, she licked her lips. What was Tony thinking?? And in front of Abby? Why is the elevator taking so long? She decided to walk.

Her mind raced as she climbed the stairs. Why had Tony kissed her? There have been times in the past when she thought he might do so, but not today and not in Abby's lab? Ugh. What if Gibbs finds out? What's the rule about co-workers? Twelve? Thirteen? This was great. Just when Ziva thought she was regaining Gibbs' trust, Tony had to kiss her in front of Abby…ABBY! Ziva grew more distressed and concocted a plan to inflict pain on Tony.

When she reached her floor, Ziva took a deep breath and regained her composure somewhat as she entered the squad room and headed toward her desk. She wouldn't look at Tony but noticed out of the corner of her eye that he quickly jumped on the phone as she walked in.

"The BOLO you requested came back, Ziva," stated McGee. "Metro is bringing the guy in. Ziva?"

Ziva looked up. "Thanks, McGee," she said trying to sound nonchalant. "Hopefully, we can connect him to the evidence Abby discovered."

"Oh? What did Abby find?"

"She found a fingerprint and some hair in the marine's belongings."

"That's great," said McGee. "I need to access the suspect's bank account and phone records."

Ziva wasn't paying attention to McGee. She glanced furtively across the aisle at Tony. He was staring down at his desk, his jaw clenched. He looked tense and miserable.

Ziva's anger with Tony disappeared. Instead, she felt a rush of affection toward him--affection that had been tucked deeply away inside her for a while. The emotion almost overwhelmed her as years of hidden feelings were bubbling forth. Ziva wondered if they would ever be repressed again.

Gibbs marched into the squad room. "Our guy is in custody. Nothing more we can do tonight. I'm going to make him sweat it out and question him in the morning."

Tony got up from his desk and left without saying anything. McGee stood up as well and prepared to leave. "I'll walk out with you McGee," said Gibbs. McGee didn't look overly happy with this news.

"Great!" he squeaked. "Good night, Ziva."

After they had gone, Ziva sat motionless considering her next move. She could go home, come back tomorrow and act like nothing happened, or she could find Tony. Her decision was quick and she went to the one place she thought he would be. Her hunch was right. She walked into the men's room and locked the door. Tony was there, leaning on the sink with his head hanging down.

When she saw him like that, words escaped her. Did he really feel that guilty about the kiss or was it something else? The courage she had mustered to go after him was starting to dissipate. She swallowed and cleared her throat.

Tony looked up and watched Ziva in the mirror. A hint of fear and some other emotion Ziva couldn't place swept over his face. Slightly encouraged, she pressed on and slowly walked toward Tony. As he turned to face her, Ziva noticed he was flinching. She smirked but didn't say a word as she held his gaze and continued to move forward.

Something in Ziva's actions caused the fear on Tony's face to be replaced by a look that made Ziva's insides melt and her knees wobble. Without a word, Ziva pulled Tony's head toward her and kissed him.

Years of passion poured forth with an enthusiasm Ziva didn't know she possessed. After a few minutes, she, reluctantly, broke away. Looking dazed, Tony slowly opened his eyes and closed his mouth. His hand slowly fell from her hair. Ziva smiled triumphantly, calmly turned, and walked out of the bathroom. She didn't look back.

Back at her desk, Ziva gathered her things and walked toward the elevator peaceful and smiling to herself. A pleasant state of being. Yes. Felicity indeed.

(end chap)


End file.
